Baker Mayfield exudes confidence, and his ability to bring guys together was critical to his and the Bucs’ success last season. There were bumps in the road during his first season in Tampa Bay, and after getting off to a 3-1 start in 2023 losses started piling up. After falling as low as 4-7, the team finished strong with a 9-8 regular-season record, largely thanks to Mayfield’s play down the stretch.

Starting the 2024 season 3-1 again led to renewed confidence that this year’s squad could compete – not just for the NFC South – but make it out of the NFC entirely. While those talks are not nearly as loud after losing three of the past four games, the veteran quarterback does not want to hear it, nor is he giving up on his guys and the remaining slate of games.

No matter who the upcoming opponents are on the schedule.

Bucs’ Offense Continued To Thrive On Sunday

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Without wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, one would not have been surprised to see Baker Mayfield’s play take a dip on Sunday afternoon against the Falcons.

Well, not so fast.

Mayfield completed a season-high 37 of 50 passes (74%) for 330 passing yards and three touchdowns to two interceptions. The offense continued to chug along and put 24 points up, despite having plenty of moving parts when it came to which wide receivers were on the field.

Instead of Evans and Godwin, it was a group effort with five wide receivers catching multiple passes. Not to mention the running backs chipping in with 13 combined receptions and tight end Cade Otton’s career game. Mayfield praised offensive coordinator Liam Coen for getting a diverse set of offensive weapons ready to contribute in the leadup to Sunday’s game.

“I mean, [he did an] unreal job just getting everybody ready,” Mayfield said. “Having different ways to attack them, the run game worked, I thought the O-line played great, but he just had everybody dialed in. I think Liam [was] obviously calling the plays but then as well as the guys that were in there, stepping up and doing their jobs how they’re supposed to. It just comes down to, once again, not shooting ourselves in the foot in critical situations. Against a team like that, they’re going to take advantage of them – of the mistakes that you make and I think that’s why you see the outcome that we had today.”

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

There were mistakes made by Mayfield, such as two costly interceptions at midfield and Atlanta’s 24-yard-line that could have led to additional points on the scoreboard. Overall though, he still performed well enough to give the team a chance and it was a solid game given the circumstances.

Circling back to Coen, he continues to dazzle as an offensive mastermind, with the team ranking quite well and doing things that have not been done for a long time. For instance, the Bucs rank fourth in the league with 389.5 offensive yards a game and points per game at 29.4. They ran for over 100 yards on the ground for the fifth consecutive game, which has not been done since Weeks 11-16 of the 2015 season back in the Doug Martin days.

After going 9-for-14 on third downs on Sunday, they rank first in the league in converting them at 52.5%.

Baker Mayfield Wants Bucs To “Come Together As A Group”

Despite a tougher path to success, Baker Mayfield believes they can return to their winning ways by continuing to fight as an offense and a team.

After getting swept by the Falcons this season, the Bucs have a harder road getting back to the playoffs. They cannot rely on winning the NFC South, with Atlanta now at 5-3 and holding the division tiebreaker. Things will not get any easier in the next two weeks either, with the team traveling to Kansas City to face the 7-0 Chiefs before returning to town to play the still-dangerous 49ers, who improved to 4-4 with a win over Dallas on Sunday night.

How can the team get back on track and in the win column despite facing these well-coached juggernauts?

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and TE Cade Otton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Come together as a group,” Mayfield said. “That’s the only way you can. The guys that were here last year understand what happened this mid-season point and it’s – do the little things right. That’s how we got out of it and so, this group that we have right now, you just have to do your job. That’s plain and simple. We have the talent in this room. We moved the ball today. We moved it up and down the field, and so we just have to do the little things right.

“We have to come together as a team and obviously in an environment like we’re heading into on a Monday night in Kansas City, we know what we’re going to get, so it’s execution, do the little things right, play the field position game and see what happens. We have the veterans, we have the leadership we need to make this thing work and that’s – [the] season is not over. We’re not even halfway done.”

Tampa Bay may be going through a rough patch, but they were in a similar boat last year. Everyone counted them out, and no matter what others may say, Mayfield is far from ready to give up on steering this ship back on course. He is taking things game by game.

“Yeah, the guys that were here [last year], we know how we did it and then like I said it’s doing the little things right, not beating yourselves,” Mayfield said. “Everybody else though – we have the mental makeup to overcome anything and I truly believe that. I believe that’s the group that we have, I believe that we can overcome a lot and take it one day at a time, one game at a time. I’d be damned if I gave up on this group. I won’t.”